Moderately obese people suffering from obstructive sleep apnea, a disorder that causes you to stop breathing for seconds or minutes, who lost 5 percent of their body weight—an average of 11 pounds—and kept it off saw less sleep disruption, less snoring, and less daytime drowsiness.

Losing weight reduces the amount of fat tissue in your throat and nasal cavity when you lie down, which allows you to breathe better, says lead researcher Henri Tuomilehto, M.D., Ph.D. Shedding pounds also improves chronic inflammation in your organ systems, which can help your respiration.

And while this is particularly important for people with obstructive sleep apnea, it’s also true for sleep quality in general. A 2013 Brazilian study found that people with a lower body mass index sleep longer and better than overweight people, spending more time in slow wave sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) cycles—two of the deepest and most important stages of rest.

Focus on dropping weight with small changes: Researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle found that people who made no conscious changes other than to keep a food journal of their meals lost 6 pounds more than those who didn’t track their fare. Try an online database for easy logging, like the app and website MyFitnessPal. As for what to actually eat, follow these 10 Rules of Lean Eating.